Fayetteville-Manlius Superintendent Corliss Kaiser drove the roads early this morning before making the determination to close school.

Liverpool Schools Superintendent Jan Matousek was on the phone about 5:30 a.m. with airport workers, the school's director of transportation and other local superintendents. She also was checking weather.com, the local TV meteorologists' forecasts and weather updates e-mailed to her from the National Weather Service.

"There's a lot that goes into it," Matousek said. "It's not easy. We do the best we can. We always try to think about the students' safety. I think today's call was the right call."

Kaiser said the roads have continued to be slippery all day, reinforcing her decision.

Predictions that the snow would continue to fall throughout the day and that freezing rain might occur right around dismissal time also factored into the decision, Kaiser said.

Matousek said she was concerned that many students would be trying to get home - whether it was on a bus, by foot or in their own vehicle - when there's 6 to 10 inches of snow on the roads.

"Some elementary students aren't released until 3:40 p.m. They might have been on buses at a time when the snow was at its highest accumulation," Matousek said. "If we get the 10 inches they're predicting, it could take a very extended amount of time to get them home. That's always unsettling to parents."

Shortly after 1 p.m. today, the National Weather Service said a winter storm warning remains in effect until 10 p.m. Meteorologists also are predicting slightly even more snow.

"Snow will continue across the area today and possibly mix with sleet this afternoon," according to an e-mail from the National Weather Service. "The snow will fall heavy at times through this evening before diminishing to scattered snow showers."

Between 6 and 12 inches of snow is expected to accumulate before Central New Yorkers see snow showers this evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Matousek and Kaiser both said their decision to cancel school today came down to one reason: Students' safety.

"We always try to err on the side of safety," Matousek said. "The roads are pretty slick."